Tribes of Kerala: a Case Study of Kurichyas of Kannavam
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Vol.2 No. 3 April 2018 E-ISSN: 2456-5571 TRIBES OF KERALA: A CASE STUDY OF KURICHYAS OF KANNAVAM Nimisha.P Research Scholar in History, Kannur University, Kerala, India Abstract The term tribe emerged as a category during this period.Tribal society in India have a very ancient and alive history and heritage of their own.They have their own cultural religious, social, economic and political structures handed on generations for centuries Thus tribe is a group of families especially of ancient or indigenous people,claiming descent from common ancestor, sharing a common culture, religion dialect etc., and usually occupying a specific geographical area and having a recognised leader. The tribes are integral part of Indian population whose life, economy, society religion etc. are substantially affected by their contact with the ‘Hindu neighbours.The region of Kerala is occupied different varieties of tribal groups among the Kurichyas occupied a prominent position they were the most civilized tribal communities in Kerala, modernisation and other development in the realm created a congenial atmosphere to this. In the present study different aspect related to the Kurichya communities are described. Keywords: Tribe, Kurichya, Way of life, Acculturation Introduction Tribes in India The Modern usage of the word ‘Tribe ‘is started by the The population of tribes in India has been classified early European explores who found primitive communities also on the basis of their economic and cultural manner. in the areas they newly explored. These communities were This distinctive feature has been brought in to eight type. different from the European in their manner, customs, and that is, forest hunting type, hill cultivation type, settled practices (Thurston, 1987:11).The primitive communities of agricultural type, simple artisan type, cattle -header type, the modern age variously or successively were described agricultural and industrial type, folk artist type, and white in the census reports and ethnographic profile as ‘hill scholar jobs etc.(Thurston,1987,81-82).They followed tribes’, ‘primitive tribes’, ‘forest tribes’ back ward social customs like matrilineal, polyandry, polygamyetc. communities etc. (Panoor, 1963: 23). It was under the The process of cultural dynamics such as sanskritization is Government of India Act of 1935and the Constitution of the results of social integration between tribal and non- India that nomenclature of the scheduled tribe fully tribal communities. Their technological knowledge isquite emerged. The constitution of India article 366(25) defines unrefined and economic system is simple and backward scheduled tribe as “such tribes or tribal communities as are and based on exchange of goods, these people can be deemed under article 342 to the scheduled tribes (STs) for identified on the basis of geographical separation. the purpose of this constitution “.In the article 342, (Saksena, 2006: 15-16).Tribal have an important placein procedure to be followed for specification of scheduled the society, they were the first humans to inhabit the tribe is prescribed. However it does not contain the country. The tribal people in India can be grouped into criterion for the specification of any community as three major categories according to their physical scheduled tribe (Uma Charan, 1998:71). features.1. The Proto Austroloid, 2. The Mangoloids, 3.The There is no term of ‘tribe’ in ancient literature. The Negrito. All these different groups except Mangaloid found word forest dwellers are used to denote them. The forest in Kerala especially in North Malabar (Menon, 1972:52). dwellers are variously described as volatile, hospitable in Sanskrit literature The accepted synonym for the Tribes of Kerala scheduled tribe in Hindi is ‘Anuschit Janjati’. The other Kerala has a composite variety of tribes, most of them words like Adhivasi, Vanavasi, Adhimjathi are also used as inhabiting the hilly region of Western Ghats. KIRTADS in synonyms for the tribe and tribal (Kumar, 2007: 5). In its studies has identified thirty six tribal communities in Malayalam the word tribe denoted as Adivasi. India is a Kerala (Vayaleri, 1996:15-16).The areas of concentration heaven of tribal population and is the second largest in the of tribal communities in Western Ghats are scattered from world in terms of population. Tribal people are considered Kasargod to Thiruvananthapuram. The Malabar area to be original inhabitants of this subcontinent having a consisting of Palaghat, Waynad, Kozhikode, and Kannur simple way of life (Cheriyan, 1999: 22-23). consist of more than eighteen varieties of tribal communities. Each tribe is distinguished from others by their pattern of life, occupation, language, and ancestor worshipping ceremonies (Panoor,1963:3). The tribes of 21 Bodhi International Journal of Research in Humanities, Arts and Science Vol.2 No. 3 April 2018 E-ISSN: 2456-5571 Kerala as a subject of study has been a neglected by Kurichayas are one of the Scheduled tribe of kerala historians. Most of the existing works on this area done by and stand fourth position regarding in their number. Anthropologists. It is only recent times that historians have Kurichyas are divided in to four. started disclosing the mystery around the tribal 1. Jati Kurichyan /Wyanadkurichyan communities. 2. Kannavam Kurichyan 3. Anchilla Kurichyan or Thirunnelli Kurichyan Methodology 4. PathiriKurichyan /Christian Kurichyan (Personal The study is both descriptive and analytical, and two communication with Punneri Kunkana, Kurichya tribe sets of data’s are mainly used for the preparation of this in Kannavam village, at 21/05/2017) research paper they are: Interview with the members of the Kurichya community of Kannavam region in Kannur district Resistance movement among the Kurichyas of Kerala. Consulting secondary sources like books, Kurichyas played a seminal role in the anti-colonial articles written by social scientist, archaeologist, struggle in North Malabar. Kurichyas fought for their Anthropologist, Historians etc. freedom and identity and were noted for their loyalty to those who reposed their trust in them. Kurichyas supported Kurichyas: A Historical Overview Pazhassi Raja in the anti -colonial resistance movement Kurichyas are a group of tribal people living in the against the British(vayaleri,1996:67-68).The ruthless high land areas of Wyanad. Dr. Herman Gundert says that, exploitation of the English East India Company in the the word Kurichyas is derived from the word Kurici means Malabar region resulted a popular discontent in high land, village etc., (Madhava, 2002:67-68). There is 1792.Formely Pazhassi Raja was a strong supporter of the different opinion about the origin of Kurichyas. One view company against Tipu Sultan, but later he stood against says that they are the people who assembled at a specific the British. The Malabar commission appointed by the place as per the written instruction of Pazhassi Raja, the company made a temporary revenue agreement with ruler of Kottayam dynasty, a regional kingdom in Kerala. Kottayam Raja for a payment of Rs-20000.he protested Another view is that the people who wore a mark /Kuri in against it along with the grievances of the peasantry their forehead is known as Kurichya (Panoor, 1963:1). culminated in an open revolt against the company. The The kurichyas are a scheduled tribe found in Wyanad anti-colonial sentiments of the various strata of caste and neighbouring areas are considered to have been the hierarchical society helped Pazahassi Raja to mobilize to first agricultural tribe to have settled down in these high them to mobilize them against British. Different groups of lands probably between the first and third centuries people including the Kurichyas were affected the new AD.They represented the unsanskritised undifferentiated revenue policy of the British in Malabar. Hence it was easy stock of proto-historic Dravidian speakers of Kerala for Pazhassi Raja to mobilize his army from various groups (Thurston, 1987:110). The Kurichyas claims to be the of people. Thalakkal Chandu was the head of the Kurichya higher group among these tribes, they assumed and were tribe that supported Pazhassi raja He was highly honoured accorded social superiority by the other tribes inhabiting by the Raja, and made himself as the head of the the area. Occupationally the Kurichyas acted themselves Gorillaforces. The Kurichya tribes were faithful allies of the as soldiers, administrators of forest villages, they are also Pazhassi Raja till the end. The Rebellion of the Pazhassi functioned as carpenters and toddy tappers Raja was suppressed by the British brutally by using their (Vayaleri,1996:63-64).According to a myth associated with forces (Panoor, 1963:87-88). kurichyas ‘they were the soldiers of lord Rama, when lord Rama went to vanavasa Bharatasheltered them by Cultural Milieu of Kannavamkurichyas providing area to reside them’. The Kuriachyas are Kannavamor Kannoth is a village in Kannur district described in the Malabar Gazetteers as following; They are Kerala which lies eight miles east of kuthuparamba, and jungle tribe of slash and burn cultivation, found in Wyanad fourteen miles east of Thalasserry on the Periya Ghats and the slopes of the Ghats, and north of Calicut. They road leading to Mananthawaddy (MadhavaMenon, considered themselves polluted by the approaches of 2002:196).The kannavam forest inhabited by the other hill tribes, and by the touch of other outside Kurichyas. Harijan welfare development society in Kerala communities. They perform talikkettu* ceremony before established a kurichya colony in kannavam forest, about puberty. They followed Marumakkathayamor matrilineal seventy Kurichya family are resided in this colony(Personal family system. (Velappan, 1999:15-17). communication with Kumaran Vayaleri, Academician and 22 Bodhi International Journal of Research in Humanities, Arts and Science Vol.2 No. 3 April 2018 E-ISSN: 2456-5571 visiting professor at Kuthuparamaba on 23/05/2017 ).The Kurichya man, now working as a government employ at social organisation of the Kurichyas are based on clan. Kannavam on 27/05/2017). They are monogamous in nature and polyandry is forbidden among them but polygamy is found.